ラララ。。。

After about 2 weeks of planning and stressing out about it, the Japan Club had our first Japanese Cooking night at my dorm. Originally I was planning on making only okonomiyaki (Japanese dish- like pizza, with cabbage, flour, egg, and a choice of meat), but after discussing with the group, we also decided to cook yakisoba and onigiri. This was a great decision in the end, b/c then everyone got to make a variety of things, and sample a lot of Japanese food that’s usually not in restaurants (prob b/c it’s simple to make). That was my main goal in doing this – exposing the members to the Japanese culture I was fortunate to experience while I was there.

When most of the cooking was over, and I was finally able to relax, I realize that I was stressed out way too much about this, and some other things currently going on in my life. I’ve been really pissed off at everyone all the time, and I really hate that feeling of being mad and not having a reason. So I’m going to try to get over the things I’m dealing with and try to be less angry all the time. Midterms are over, so hopefully I’ll be able to do that.

First, about Tokyo Eyes - GREAT MOVIE! The cinematography was great, Shinji Takeda is a great actor (I loved how he took that character and made him his own, the mannerisms he took made his protrayal more believable, and he’s sooooo hot!), and the supporting cast was good too. The ending was shocking tho. A must-see if you like good Japanese movies, and love films.

Now, about how I’ve been feeling at the moment. I guess it’s b/c I spent so long in Japan, but sometimes I feel that things have changed here so much that I don’t fit in anywhere. I feel out of the loop more often than not with alot of my old friends. It’s something that alot of us exchange students talked about before we all returned. It helps that I’ve met alot of new people, which have made my last yr in college turn out differently that I had imagined (but in a good way). The people who live in the Multicultural House are so cool, nice, and friendly. They’re so interesting too - I just like listening to their stories sometimes, and they’re really interested in hearing about how my year in Japan was. My house requirement, tho at first I wasn’t too thrilled about before I had picked it, is a great way to do what I like to do anyway, and learn more about different groups on campus.

Tho in many ways this year has started out well, it still makes me feel a bit sad that my friendships with my old friends just don’t feel the same anymore. Perhaps this always happens with change - it’s just a matter of finding a new balance. One year’s a long time, things can and do change, but I guess I thought that change was going to come more from me than anyone else.